Today's Opinions

At a recent book club gathering, while discussing J.D. Vance’s bestselling Hillbilly Elegy, we fell to talking politics.

Our fall came unexpected. Book club has always been sacrosanct, a space carved out once a month for literature, fun, good friends and conversation. For, let’s be honest, a night out with wine and cheese.

That’s not to say we spend every minute of the night talking about the book we (were supposed to have) read. But politics? Politics have always been a big fat no.

Happy May. Let the gardening begin. Instead of just going shopping for plants and then coming home to plant them, may I suggest you lay out a garden plan first? It kind of forces you to think about how much stuff you need. It also helps if you pick your varieties, especially if you grow corn and tomatoes to can.

I have varieties of tomatoes that can be harvested in as little as 55 days, some that take 90 days, and some in-between. That allows me to harvest throughout the season and not be inundated with tons of ripe ones all at once. You can do the same with corn.

It was not easy taking one week to drive across the country with my husband, three children, two cars, one dog, piles of suitcases, blankets and toys to arrive at our new home in Kentucky. By the time we hit Oklahoma it was our fourth day on the road. I honestly started questioning how many more days I could drive in a row, or if we would ever reach our destination.

At a recent book club gathering, while discussing J.D. Vance’s bestselling Hillbilly Elegy, we fell to talking politics.

Our fall came unexpected. Book club has always been sacrosanct, a space carved out once a month for literature, fun, good friends and conversation. For, let’s be honest, a night out with wine and cheese.

That’s not to say we spend every minute of the night talking about the book we (were supposed to have) read. But politics? Politics have always been a big fat no.

This week is Cinco De Mayo which is a great reason to try your hand at making Queso dip. Queso simply means cheese in Spanish. You will taste the difference immediately when you make homemade versus store bought dip.

“Jesus answered and said to them, When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:2-3)

I wasn’t aware until recently that the University of Kentucky is going broke.

Please forgive my ignorance because while I don’t venture into the city very often, it would appear when I do that the state’s namesake university is humming along nicely. Not only does the construction of new buildings and such go on in perpetuity, the school certainly isn’t shy about hefty tuition increases each and every year.

Cattle receiving insecticide-impregnated ear tags take their fly control system with them. Ear tags have provided a popular option to control the horn fly, a blood-sucking insect that hits producers with a $1 billion bill for losses and control costs each year. In addition, the tags can reduce face fly numbers on cattle.